Deep Fried Macaroni Cheese

 

For the final day of the Eat Out to Help Out scheme we went to The Garrick's Head in Bath. Haven't been here for a long time and remember it as a nice but rather underused lunchtime pub, probably busier in the evenings when it would be an ideal pre-theatre dining pub as the Bath Theatre Royal is just round the corner. The pub is housed in the former home of Beau Nash. I had a lamb and mint pie for my main, which was wonderful, a sort of pastry castle in a moat of gravy with defensive mounds of mashed potato and cabbage, the only problem was the slight difficulty in eating as one hacked away at the pastry ramparts and lifted oddly shaped bits of wall to one's mouth it could get a bit splashy with the gravy but everything was beautifully made. Also a nice dessert of Brownie and salted caramel ice cream. But the memorable thing was the starter, a deep fried macaroni cheese - like a small breadcrumbed brick sitting in a pool of cheese sauce, with shreds of red cabbage and a salsa verde. It was utterly delightful and delicious. My two companions also enjoyed theirs, though one complained (sort of) that the crocque monsieur panini was just a ham and cheese panini, and they both thought their sorbet desserts were just too sweet. But otherwise, a really nice meal and experience.

Hokey Pokey Sundae

 

hokey pokey sundae at the Green Park Brasserie, Bath

So I'd never heard the term 'hokey pokey' before and was intrigued to see on the blackboard of the Green Park Brasserie in Bath a 'special' under desserts called Hokey Pokey Sundae. Hokey Pokey, it turns out, is the New Zealand term for that honeycomb toffee that, when covered in chocolate and sold in the form of a bar is known to British lovers of confectionery as a Crunchie. So I went for this dessert even though I knew what an ill matched pair honeycomb toffee and the human molar are, but know that as long as I can tackle the stuff with my front teeth - nibble at it as it were - I can usually manage. Which is why a Crunchie Bar is no longer a viable option for me, they are impossible to eat without resorting to molars and chewing, which usually means the end of fillings or the need for new ones. The dessert was a delight, three scoops of Marshfield Farm vanilla ice cream (MF is just north of Bath, you will pass it on the way to or from the M4), little chewy cubes of brownie, splinters and nuggets of hokey pokey, and chocolate sauce, and some ovals of cream. The Green Park Brasserie is a friendly place in the old Green Street Railway Station, without outside seating at the back under the impressive old curved station roof. They have live music (or did have before the pandemic at least), at weekends. This was our third Eat Out to Help Out session, our mains were a very good burger and a vegan linguine (artichokes, olives, sub blushed tomatoes).    

Crema di Limone

Blackberries seem to be ripening early this year. On a recent walk on the Stourhead estate we found several blackberry stretches of blackberry bsuhes and gathered a few in a dog bag, then got home and wondered what to do with them. Was another apple and blackberry crumble in the offing? Then I came across this recipe in a two year old edition of the Guardian's Feast magazine. For several years now I've been sorting through my backlog of TLS's and other saved papers, and came across this by chance just after we picked the blackberries, in a little section on Sicilian desserts. What luck! So I made them. Could be an answer to our eternal custard problem (my wife hates it, I love it), this is basically a milkless custard, using just eggs, cornflour, sugar and water, to achieve something very custard like. With the addition of lemon juice it becomes, as my wife pointed out, lemon curd. Just put it in a pastry case and you have a lemon curd tart. But this is crema di limone. Made me wonder though if, without the lemons and with vanilla, say, you could make a milkless custard? Or are there any other milkless versions of custard? Anyway, this is finished off just by boiling some blackberries with sugar and water to make a liquor to pour on top. We both found it very delicious.

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